Plattsburgh Cares fliers spark cross-border outcry

A pamphlet being distributed by Plattsburgh Cares, a local refugee aid group, has prompted concern from Canadian officials who say that information in the handout regarding their asylum system lacks clarity.

PLATTSBURGH | Pamphlets containing information for asylum seekers looking to cross into Canada through an illegal entry point at Roxham Road have materialized in recent weeks.

The pamphlet by Plattsburgh Cares, a local refugee aid group, outlines what refugees seeking asylum can expect when they reach Roxham Road and what happens after they’re detained.

“Once you cross at the irregular border, the Canadian Constitution applies, and you may be able to claim asylum,” the pamphlet reads.

But the measure has prompted concern from Canadian officials who say that information in the handout regarding their asylum system lacks clarity.

“The content, if you look at it carefully, doesn’t really explain the asylum system properly,” Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen told reporters this week, according to iPolitics.

“We’re asking them to not have incomplete information being shared by this organization … (to) not inadvertently mislead people.

“If you don’t need Canada’s protection, you should not use the asylum system. And if you do, you will be removed from Canada.”

Hussen’s press secretary, Mathieu Genest, told iPolitics that the department has asked Plattsburgh Cares to follow up with other pamphlets to provide a complete picture of what it means to claim asylum in Canada.

Plattsburgh Cares President Kathy Sajor did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

But Plattsburgh Cares released a statement addressing the controversy on Friday:

“Plattsburgh Cares is a coalition working to assist vulnerable people in our community and help them achieve their goals safely and responsibly with compassion, justice and respect,” the statement reads.

“Part of this humanitarian mission includes providing basic, non-legal information so people will not be lost or stranded and will know how to obtain the legal and other supports they need to make optimal choices for themselves and their families.”

MISINFORMATION

The pamphlet also prompted outcry by Canadian Conservatives who say the pamphlet is proof of a failed strategy by Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau to manage the refugee crisis.

“They accelerated work permits, access to health care, they said they would transfer people to other parts of the country,” MP Michelle Rempel told The Canadian Press. “They have done everything possible to give people incentives to keep coming.”

The Canadian Press, who wrote that the pamphlets “encourag(ed) refugee claimants to cross the border at Roxham Road,” picked up the story on May 24 and reports of Plattsburgh Cares’ efforts quickly went viral on social media.

COMBATTING MISINFORMATION

Border crossings escalated in January 2017 following President Donald Trump’s tough rhetoric on immigration and securing the nation’s borders.

More than 27,000 asylum seekers have walked across the border since Trump took office, Reuters reported this week, including Nigerians and Haitians concerned about losing their temporary legal status.

It’s unclear how many of those crossings were made at Roxham Road.

But the influx, Reuters reported, has taxed Canada’s system for those seeking refugee status, and demands for social services and housing cannot keep up.

The pamphlet also gives guidance on the maximum fare a taxi cab can charge for rides to Roxham Road. (Last year, a local cab company was fined $2,500 by the state attorney general’s office for overcharging refugees for rides to the Canadian border.)

At least one Canadian lawmaker has called for the Canadian government to print fliers of their own.

“Canada must immediately print a flier,” MP Louis Plamondon told Canadian media outlet TVA Nouvelles this week, referencing a recent trip to Nigeria by Hussen. “It only takes two hours to go to Plattsburgh to inform people.”

Hussen made a trip to Nigeria earlier this month as part of government efforts to stop asylum seekers from illegally crossing into Canada from the United States.

“There is misinformation being directed toward some Nigerian nationals and they are being told that going to Canada and crossing the border is a free ticket. So we’re dispelling those myths,” he told The Canadian Press.